{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O354029"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O354029/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2012FV1210/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2012FV1210/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2012FV1210","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O354029","accessionNumber":"T.346-1974","objectType":"Dress","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Dress of navy blue cotton organdie with red polka dots, larger dots on the full sleeves elasticated at the cuff and smaller dots on the skirt. The scoop-necked bodice made from a large-scale red and black print trimmed with red velvet ribbon which is also applied around the unevenly undulating hem","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Thea Porter","id":"A4897"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"x36960"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"cotton","id":"AAT14067"}],"techniques":[{"text":"printing","id":"AAT53319"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Cotton organdie","categories":[{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"Womenswear","id":"THES49044"},{"text":"Evening wear","id":"THES48999"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2012FV1210"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"010","id":"THES307998"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Dress","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1971","earliest":"1971-01-01","latest":"1971-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Paul Getty Junior","dimensions":[],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Worn by Talitha Getty (1940-1971); donated by Paul Getty Jr along with other clothes worn by his second wife after her death. Talitha Getty was known for her eclectic fashion sense, where she combined clothing by contemporary designers with caftans, scarves, shoes and accessories from Turkey, Palestine and North Africa that she probably picked up in the course of her travels. One of her favourite designers was the London-based Thea Porter (1927-2000), whose garments combined multicultural references and textiles from the Middle East, North Africa and Europe in brilliantly coloured and/or richly textured assemblies appealed to an affluent clientele, particularly those who felt they had affinity with the Hippie movement, such as Talitha Getty.\n\nThis is an example of one of Thea Porter's most popular dress designs that she called the 'Gipsy.'  The 'Gipsy' dresses were made in three main variations, distinguished by their necklines (scoop-necked as here, cross-over or keyhole). Whilst not herself from a Traveler or Roma background, Thea Porter was born in Jerusalem in 1927 to a Russian Jewish father and Italian/Tunisian Jewish mother who had both converted to Catholicism in the early 20th century. She grew up in Damascus, Syria and was a citizen of Beirut until she moved to London in 1964. She used her knowledge of textiles and garment construction from her former homelands to create clothing which heavily referenced European, Middle Eastern and North African cultures. Her design and fabric choices were explicitly inspired by the cultures around which she had grown up, and she also used historic and original textiles and embroideries to make up her clothes. Laura McLaw Helms suggests that Thea Porter's 'Gipsy' dresses were based upon the clothing worn by Turkic peoples (<i>Thea Porter: Bohemian Chic</i>, V&amp;A Publishing, pp.44-47), while also noting that Porter acknowledged the influence of Ballets Russes designers like Natalia Goncharova and Léon Bakst. The term 'Gipsy' is used here to reflect the name the designer gave these dresses, a name which also shows Porter consciously crediting her own rich multicultural background, references, and inspirations.\n- DMC, 03/06/2026","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Dress, navy blue cotton organdie with red polka dots and printed red and black bodice, Thea Porter, London, 1971","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[{"text":"Talitha Getty","id":"C5444"}],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["T.346-1974"],"accessionNumberNum":"346","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":1974,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-07-22","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-24","availableToBook":true}}